Tornado F3 Roadrunner

[GaryS]

Today,11am on A34 northbound.
Three trucks,1 fuselage,2 wings,3 tail,marked FC from 25 Squadron.
Didn't catch the serial number

[POL]

ZE204 from Manston maybe?

[Vulcanone]

Most Likely, and I believe if its going to the same place as the Harriers last week, It is going to Otterburn (Not sure atm)

[GaryS]

Thanks.204 would be logical judging by the state the fuselage was in.

[2e1var]

Out of interest where do old Tornadoes go to die ? Considering the amount of F3/GR4s that went I don't remember seeing any pics of them being broken up or in mass storage. Where did they all go ?

Rich

[CLPSLFBT]

Out of interest where do old Tornadoes go to die ? Considering the amount of F3/GR4s that went I don't remember seeing any pics of them being broken up or in mass storage. Where did they all go ?

Rich

Morning, alot of them went on a programme called RTP ( Reduce to Produce) which I believe was at Leeming? . This involved them being stripped of all usable parts etc that could be used on the GR4's and what was left was eventually scrapped. Obviously a few escaped RTP and went to various museum's. Coningsby has an F3 gate guard and I think Leuchars as well had ( has ) one?.
I can remember one being for sale with Jet Art Aviation after being restored cosmetically ( looked fantastic by the way)
https://www.jetartaviation.co.uk/tornado-zd902
A small chapter on RTP

http://www.fast-air.co.uk/raf-leeming-rtp/


Hopefully that answers your question

Cheers, Glenn

[Agent K]

Out of interest where do old Tornadoes go to die ? Considering the amount of F3/GR4s that went I don't remember seeing any pics of them being broken up or in mass storage. Where did they all go ?

Rich

RAF Leeming to the Tornado RTP, the F3's were removed of usable parts to support the GR4 fleet and then eventually the final GR4's were scrapped.

[Snoop 95]

Surely we would have offered parts for sale to those countries still flying Tornados?

[gamecock]

I think the fuselages and any remaining attaching parts went to Metal & Waste recycling in Seaham.

[Agent K]

Surely we would have offered parts for sale to those countries still flying Tornados?

I suspect where possible then this will have happened, but be mindful there was quite a deviation in Tornado spec when the UK went the GR4 route and other countries went down an alternative MLU route, so an amount of equipment will not have been suitable for sale onwards. Also equipment, even if compatible in theory, may not have been to the same mod state or maintenance/certified regime and state hence it will have no or little value to other operators. Also, airframe and structural components may well have been at or near time expired so again, the value would be scrappage only. So what I'm saying is that the potential for sale onwards will not have been as comprehensive as it might appear.

[Canberra TT.18]

Surely we would have offered parts for sale to those countries still flying Tornados?

I suspect where possible then this will have happened, but be mindful there was quite a deviation in Tornado spec when the UK went the GR4 route and other countries went down an alternative MLI route, so an amount of equipment will not have been suitable for sale onwards. Also equipment, even if compatible in theory, may not have been to the same mod state hence it will have no or little value to other operators. Also, airframe and structural components may well have been at or near time expired so again, the value would be scrappage only. So what I'm saying is that the potential for sale onwards will not have been as comprehensive as it might appear.

And don 't forget eg. Germany used around 360 Tornados of which some 80 remain in service. They had their own RTP-program at Jever.

[page_verify]

Unless spare parts were managed using the same MR&O processes and certification standards then 'foreign' parts are effectively scrap in a regulated airworthiness regime.

[Richard E]

Out of interest where do old Tornadoes go to die ? Considering the amount of F3/GR4s that went I don't remember seeing any pics of them being broken up or in mass storage. Where did they all go ?

There are some images here:

http://www.tornado-data.com/Tid/galleries/the_end.htm

Rich

[2e1var]

Thanks for the info guys

[gamecock]

Unless spare parts were managed using the same MR&O processes and certification standards then 'foreign' parts are effectively scrap in a regulated airworthiness regime.

Correct, but dependent on the complexity of the part and presence of fluids, perishable materials etc. they can be reconditioned. Then there's concessions, waivers, deviations etc. Where there's a will...!

[Grey Ghost]

Unless spare parts were managed using the same MR&O processes and certification standards then 'foreign' parts are effectively scrap in a regulated airworthiness regime.

Correct, but dependent on the complexity of the part and presence of fluids, perishable materials etc. they can be reconditioned. Then there's concessions, waivers, deviations etc. Where there's a will...!

And a sharp pencil!

[Drinkmat]

ZE204* had been used by the MOD Fire Service Central Training Establishment (later the Defence Fire Training and Development Centre) at Manston for a few years as a training aid for Firefighters. It was most recently used in November 2020 when the final course of trainees went through Manston. At the end of their course, Manston closed as a training camp and has been handed over to the Army Reserves.

The jet was lowered onto the grass with undercarriage retracted to simulate a wheels-up landing. The main gear doors and canopy were removed and stored safely a few metres away. As a training aid, it had smoke grenades thrown into the air intakes and jet pipes (no engines were fitted) but the airframe was never set on fire at Manston. Despite lots of water being put into the aircraft, it survived pretty well and although the following photos were ones I took in 2017, the jet looked in very good condition the last time I viewed it, about two weeks ago. Most instruments were in place, as was the pilot control grip. In previous years, someone at Manston had been found stripping out aircraft parts from the Fire Training Ground to sell on, but in the past 20 years or so, this had been stamped on very well.

* When the three Tornado F3's arrived at Manston, the tail fins were transported separate to the fuselages. There was talk at the time that the correct fins may not have been attached to the correct fuselage sections!

[gamecock]

Surprisingly intact. Does anyone know where it was operating immediately before retirement?

[Vulcanone]

It and the other 2 that were at Manston were stored at Shawbury after retirement. Forget when they went to Shawbury, but they got away with going into the RTP line

[Thunderbird167]

ZE204 was on 25 Sqn before retirement to Shawbury. It still retained the code FC and tail markings when in use at Manston